Test 3B

Version B
School: ________________________________

English Test – 11th Form Level VII

Student: __________________________________Class: 11 th ___________________ Date: ___/___/___

Teacher: _________________________________ Mark: _________ Parent’s Signature: ____________

Before you begin:

· Read all the questions carefully.
· Check that you have answered all the questions.
· If you do not know the answer to a question, move on and come back to it at the end.
· Re-read your work once you have finished and look out for any silly mistakes.

A Before reading the text, answer the questions below in no more than 40 words. (20 marks)

Are you a fashion slave, someone whose shopping habits are controlled by brands and
a desire to look cool? Explain what kind of consumer you are.

You may refer to two of the following topics:

1. Your taste for fashion and extravagant clothes or accessories.
2. How publicity influences what you buy.
3. How much you care for your physical appearance.
4. Your ambition to become popular at school.

Driving Teen Egos – and Buying – through ‘Branding’

1. Comparing the marketing of today with the marketing of yesteryear is like comparing a BB

gun to a smart bomb; it’s enhanced by technology, honed by child psychologists and
brought to us by billions of dollars. In the new millennium, marketing executives are insinuating
5 their brands into the fabric of children’s lives. They want – to use industry terms – ‘cradle to
grave’ brand loyalty and to ‘own’ children.

2. “By the time children reach their teens, a developmental stage when they’re naturally

insecure and searching for a personal identity, they’ve been taught that material
10 possessions are what matter,” Kanner says in his book “Psychology and Consumer Culture: The
Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World”. “Advertisers understand the teen’s desire to be
“cool,” and manipulate it to sell their wares” Kanner says.

3. “Teens want to identify with their peer group and in a certain sense, that is a vulnerability,”

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Kanner says. Indeed, teens and tweens, children between the ages of 12 and 14, are
attracted to the prestige they believe brand-name clothing provides them. The attraction to
prestige brands develops in adolescent years because it’s a time when peer pressure and fitting
in are very important, she notes.
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4. “The problem, says Kanner, is that marketers manipulate that attraction, encouraging

teens to use materialistic values to define who they are and aren’t. In doing that, marketers
distort the organic process of developing an identity by hooking self-value to brands”, he adds.
“More naturally, you might develop your identity around, for example, doing good in the world
or building a career out of an interest,” he explains.
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5. Identity-oriented branding also encourages disapproval of anything different, be it a

different generation, different cultural group or different school clique. The way advertising
separates kids from their parents is particularly insidious. Essentially, advertisers encourage
rejection of the older generation’s preferences to the point of trying to create an official
statement about what is cool for teenagers, capitalizing on the body image, weight concerns
and beauty ideals that make them most vulnerable.”
Source: http://www.apa.org (adapted)

B
1. Re-read paragraphs 1-3 carefully. Decide whether the following statements are true (12 marks)
or false. Quote a sentence from the text to support your answer.
a. Marketers present-day strategies target adults rather than teens as the latter can better afford
innovative technology.
b. A famous psychologist states that teens are vulnerable and educated to consume material things.
c. Brand-names are associated with the idea of popularity at school and positive peer feedback by
teenagers.
d. Parents always have a word to say in this matter and teens usually listen to them.

2. Complete the following sentences according to paragraphs 3-5. (30 marks)

a. Instead of persuading young people to do good or build a positive self-image, __________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
b. Being led by brands, teenagers set themselves apart from _________________________________
c. Body image, weight concerns and beauty ideals _________________________________________

3. Circle the appropriate meaning of the following expressions from the text. (18 marks)
a. are insinuating their brands into the fabric of children’s lives (ll. 3-4)
1. are not manipulating children’s tastes 2. are strongly interfering with children’s upbringing
b. Teens want to identify with their peer group. (l. 11)
1. to imitate other students 2. to mingle and be accepted by others students
c. is particularly insidious (l. 23)
1. is rather harmful 2. is very inviting

C Fill in the gaps with an appropriate word in the box below. (16 marks)

Many teens believe that they are a. immune / influential to marketing manipulation, a topic that is very
difficult to address. So parents and others who care about children b. shouldn’t / need to take baby steps in
several arenas to turn the materialistic tide:
• At home, c. find / criticise ways for children to spend time away from advertising and talk to them about
why and d. whom / how ads are produced.
• In communities, share concerns with parents and community leaders who can work e. together / always
to change teen views of marketing.
• In schools, work to stop the f. reflex / influx of advertising messages in school buildings.
• In the marketplace, join advocacy groups, such as the Coalition to g. help / stop the Commercial
Exploitation of Children, that lobby politicians and companies to be responsible marketers. Also, support
foundations that fund research h. off / on marketing effects on children.
D
1. Join the following sentences using a relativiser. Then decide if it is a defining or (40 marks)
non-defining relative clause.
a. The girl was looking at a gigantic Coca-Cola poster. She looked amazed.
b. This is the new shopping centre. Teens spend hours in it.
c. I’ve been buying Christmas gifts. I’m going to offer them to my younger nephews and nieces.
d. People watch too many adverts. They end up buying what they don’t need.

2. Rephrase the following sentences beginning with the words given. (24 marks)
Don’t change their meaning.
a. It’s hopeless to assume marketers will stop targeting teens.
There is no use ______________________________________________. will stop targeting teens.
b. It is almost useless to show very young children how pernicious advertising can be. Just switch off
the TV.
There’s no point ____________________. how pernicious advertising can be. Just switch off the TV.
c. It’s pointless to tell a teen he/she shouldn’t eat so much. It can be counter productive.
It’s not worth ______________________. he/she shouldn’t eat so much. It can be counter
productive.

E Choose one of the following topics and write a composition of about 150-200 words. (40 marks)

1. Comparing the marketing of today with the marketing of yesteryear is like comparing a BB gun to a
smart bomb.

You may refer to the following topics:

 the evolution of publicity over the last century.
 strategies used by marketers to manipulate audiences.
 teenagers’ purchasing power.
 aggressive marketing techniques used to encourage people to buy.
 Internet publicity.

2. How does publicity affect teens’ lives? Does it influence your choices and priorities? How do you/
your peers feel about that?

You may answer the questions by completing the frame text below with your ideas.

Like other people teenagers _________________________________________________________________.

However, not all of them __________________. My friends _________________________________________,
therefore ____________________. We usually go to shopping centres ________________________________,
where we ____________________________. My parents __________________________________________,
so ____________________________________. Nevertheless I ____________________________I like / don’t
like watching commercials because _____________________________________. I am / am not influenced by
brands like ___________________________and prefer to buy __________________________. Publicity is an
essential feature of our society because it _______________________________ and ____________________
____________________________. Without publicity____________________________________________,

Good luck!
(Total: 200 marks)